Fairy Tales - Individuals Part 2
Fairy Tales - Individuals Part 2
Fairy Tales - Individuals Part 2
“The Stars”
In a silent mountainous landscape lived a man named Walt. Walt was an
ordinary man; he had lived nearly his whole life alone, in the most secluded yet
flourishing land he could find. He was content with his life, and he survived off a
meticulously maintained garden and a lifetime of precisely honed hunting skills. Walt
was an extremely intelligent man; he had spent his youth obsessing over hundreds of
works which had been his father’s. He enjoyed learning about the world around him,
and the two things he enjoyed most were literature and the stars. Every time he
looked to the sky, he was captivated by the beauty of the cosmos. He believed the
sky to be the ultimate work of art and cared for it more than anything else. Walt
would observe the millions of visible stars, planets, and galaxies at the same time
every night. It was his favorite thing to do, and he never missed a day.
One peaceful evening, as Walt sat outside, the light and warm summer breeze
kept him as comfortable as ever. He looked up in excitement as the sun began to set;
however, he was soon disappointed, as the stars were covered by thick gray clouds.
Something didn’t make sense to Walt; he knew the sky, he memorized every type of
cloud that could possibly be in the sky, but these clouds were different. Walt sadly
accepted the fact that he would not be able to see the stars and went to sleep. Walt
awaited the next night with great anticipation, yet when the sun set, the same gray
clouds were there. Walt understood that this was no regular cloud. There was a major
city about an hour's drive away from Walt. Being a man of great intelligence, he knew
he had to go to the city. Walt drove into the city, and what he saw overwhelmed him.
Thousands of people were living in poverty on busy concrete streets. He saw
enormous buildings all covered with advertisements. He saw a society obsessed with
consumption and blinded by greed. The pollution was so severe that, every day and
night, the city was blanketed in a bleak gray aura.
Walt obsessed over how he could make the stars visible again. Inspired by his
namesake and idol, Walt Whitman, and his famous poem, “When I Heard the Learn'd
Astronomer," Walt understood that people did not need to be experts in
astrophysics to understand the stars; they simply needed to experience the beauty,
and through it, they would be enlightened. Walt spent two years composing beautiful
poems and stories that expressed the wonder of nature and highlighted the human
need to experience it. A few days after Walt’s 52nd birthday, his works took the
people by storm. The lower class had never seen stars, and they were captivated by
Walt’s description and admiration of the sky. They were enraged that the upper class
observed the stars using technology only they could afford. The people decided they
would be blinded no longer, and with that, a worldwide revolution began. The top
one percent, who owned nearly everything, were overthrown. The wealth was
distributed fairly, and the people were no longer blinded by consumption and greed.
They worked every day to reverse the damage that had been done. Eventually they
did, and once again, everyone everywhere had access to the stars. They created a
society that understood that no amount of money can purchase the beauty and
perfection of nature.
Kendall Hall
“Murdering the Sea”
Deep in the Red Sea, there was the kingdom of Atlantica. The kingdom consisted of one
ruler, King Triton, with seven beautiful daughters. The kingdom relied on the king's daughters,
for they were responsible for protecting the different sea divisions and helping them
flourish. The other daughters took their duties seriously to bring their father pride; however,
Ariel couldn't care less. Ariel had shimmering ruby-red hair and skin as white as snow. She
was full of curiosity about what the other world was like above the sea. While her sisters
would rest, Ariel would wake at dawn and forage for human things. Ariel’s father spoke of the
horrible incident of the oil spill that had killed their mother. He elaborated that humans
showed no remorse toward the sea and that the kingdom was what protected them.
However, Ariel chose to ignore his allegations and strong hatred toward humans. She sought
adventure and believed that not all humans were cruel.
One early morning, Ariel went out to do her daily search when her fin got entangled in a
plastic bag. She was in so much distress that she felt lightheaded and then fainted. Adjusting
her sight, Ariel glanced around at her surroundings and noticed she had been washed up
onto the shore. Looking down at her fin, she saw that the plastic bag was gone, and a man
was approaching her from a distance. He walked toward her and said, “I saw you got caught
up, but no worries; I took care of it.” Ariel was frightened and thought about what her father
had told her of humans, but this one was different. Ariel felt he was pure and introduced
herself. She learned his name was Aaron, and they stared at each other in admiration of their
indifferences. Ariel grew a fond interest in Aaron and snuck out to see if she could see him
again. Arriving at the site where they had met, she searched her surroundings for him, when
suddenly she spotted a boat. When she had caught up to it, Aaron turned around shockingly.
Without hesitation, Ariel asked Aaron, “Why are you here? My father warned me of this
thing.” Aaron replied, “I am an offshore driller, and this is an oil rig. This is what our world
uses for us to drive cars and such. It is something we rely on.” Ariel stated, “My father told me
of how this thing is harmful and can ruin our environment.” Aaron shook his head and said, “I
always make sure it will not spill; I promise it won’t.” They smiled at one another, and their
feelings started to grow deeper for one another.
At sunrise, Ariel went to the coastline awaiting Aaron, and once more, he returned to see
her. They had made it a routine to see each other every day at dawn, and Ariel knew today
was the day she would tell her family that she had met a genuine human who protected the
sea. Heading back to the kingdom, Ariel felt a sense of excitement. However, when she
arrived, her father was angry with Ariel for abandoning her duties again. When Ariel came
forward to her father about the truth of how she had fallen madly in love with a human, her
father was even more infuriated. He forbade her from seeing him again, but Ariel refused. Her
father insisted that humans were murderers of the sea and turned away from Ariel in
disappointment. Ariel, having nowhere to go, felt grief from not following her father's orders
and frantically decided to find Aaron to prove her father wrong. When swimming towards the
coastline, Ariel fell into immense darkness. Swarming and screaming, Ariel desperately tried
to find an opening from this dark substance. Ingesting the liquid, she slowly became
immobile, and her breathing was unsteady. Ariel inhaled one last breath before drifting away
in the deep sea.
Aaron paced along the shoreline expecting Ariel. He started to grow a deep sense of
worry and glanced out at the sea. Looking closely, he noticed a stream of darkness, and his
eyes widened. He fell to the sand and sat there in silence, realizing how he had broken his
promise to Ariel to keep her world safe.
Briana Heggy
“Untitled”
Once upon a time in a faraway ocean, there was a colony of sirens. These
sirens weren’t like any other sirens; they protected the ocean and the
environment. They sang melodies to all creatures, convincing them to clean up
and protect the ocean. Among the colony, there was a siren named Summer.
She was the most beautiful siren in the whole ocean. She had golden hair like
the sun, and you could see her sparkling radiance from all depths of the ocean.
There was something unique about Summer's voice: it held a secret darkness
that could mirror the depths of the abyss, but no one but her knew the power
she had. All the sirens would gather outside the kingdom to plan out the day
and prepare to clean the ocean. The sirens would always give Summer the
worst jobs; they were all jealous of her beauty, so they always treated her
poorly as if they resented her. One night, the colony of sirens snuck into
Summer's room when she was sleeping, and they decided to cut her golden
blonde hair. They knew how much Summer loved her hair, and they all wanted
it. Summer woke up that morning screaming in pain when she realized what
had happened to her hair. Summer was boiling with anger, and something
about her changed that day; it was as if her heart had turned black and full of
darkness. Summer decided to leave the kingdom and find a way on her own.
Wanting revenge, Summer decided to go against what the sirens wanted, and
she decided to sing to the world, but instead of calling people to clean up the
earth, she convinced them to destroy and start polluting. Soon, the world
above them was dying, the air was filled with heavy pollution, the seas
screamed in agony, and the whole world was in distress. The ocean grew
warmer, and the storms became more ferocious. Plastic waste littered the
shores. Summer started to feel a change in herself: her hair turned black, and
all her beauty started to disappear. She quickly realized that since the world
was dying, so was she, and because the planet had lost its beauty, so had she.
She started to resent herself for what she had done. Driven by desperation,
Summer went back to the colony and begged for forgiveness; she wanted to
find a way to fix all the damage that she had caused. The sirens started
scattering through the depths of the ocean and singing away, convincing
people to help clean up the earth. It took time, but the earth's beauty
returned, as well as the siren's beauty. The siren colony apologized to Summer,
and they admitted that what they did was wrong and that they shouldn’t be
jealous of her because they all came from the beauty of the earth, so they
needed to protect it. Summer and the other sirens went on to keep the oceans
clean, and they lived happily ever after. The end.
Starr Lawson
“The Coral Maiden”
Once upon a time, deep in the Great Barrier Reef, there lived a mermaid named Coralia. Her hair
color was a deep pink that matched the bright colors of the surrounding coral. She loved her home,
especially the brightly colored fish. She loved the slimy feel of the sea plants and the different shades
of blue surrounding her. Her favorite thing was to explore her home with her trusty ghost crab, Mr.
Pinchers.
Over time, the vivid colors of the ocean began to fade. It was hard to tell at first, but Coralia
began to notice that the coral was drained of most of its color. She also noticed that her hair was no
longer deep pink; it was now a pastel color. Coralia felt her stomach tense up as she realized
something was gravely wrong with her home. She grabbed Mr. Pinchers and swam to shore in order to
find some answers. She saw a group of men, each carrying large barrels. They each took turns going to
the edge of the pier and pouring out a thick black substance into the water. The water underneath
them turned black, with streaks of the original blue peeking through. The fresh smell of the air became
overpowered by the smell of sulfur. Coralia was horrified by what she saw, and her hair began to lose
its pigment. She looked at Mr. Pinchers and expressed that they needed to do something fast.
“Perhaps the sea witch will be willing to help,” Mr. Pinchers suggested.
Coralia agreed and began to scan the area, looking for whomever was in charge. She saw a young
man dressed in fancy clothes and began to analyze every detail about his appearance. She then told
Mr. Pinchers to follow the young man and learn as much as possible. He agreed, and the two parted
ways.
Coralia entered a secluded part of the ocean. The water felt warmer, the coral was pure white,
the smell of sulfur surrounded her, and the water appeared almost pitch-black, with bits of the sun
shining through. She came to a sign that read “Undyne” and began to enter the cave behind it. She
thought about the rumors she had been told about how the sea witch was an ugly, devious monster.
To her surprise, she saw a beautiful water nymph with luscious white hair. Coralia introduced herself,
explained the situation, and asked for help. Undyne spoke softly: “You speak of the prince; he resides
uphill by the shore. I will grant you legs, but it is important that you convince him to stop by sundown,
otherwise you—” Coralia interrupted Undyne with a piercing scream.
“I can feel the coral dying; I must act now. Please hurry and grant me legs now,” she proclaimed.
Undyne nodded and began to sing while moving her arms in a specific way. A green light
appeared and circled around Coralia’s tail. The light soaked into her tail as Undyne finished her song.
Once finished, she began warning Coralia of the conditions of her spell, but Coralia swam off before
she could get a word in.
Coralia got to shore and began to leave the water. Her tail ripped in half, and she screamed in
agony as the two halves became legs. Mr. Pinches arrived and explained that the prince loved to take
women on his boat. They devised a plan involving Coralia flirting with the prince in order to get to his
boat, where she would then take him to see all the damage he had done. This proved to be time
consuming, but Coralia was successful. By the time they reached her home, the sun rested just above
the water. In the distance was Undyne, who watched as the sun began to fall. As she waited, Coralia
explained how the prince was destroying her once beautiful home. While she explained, Undyne began
to sing and move her arms in a specific way. As she and Coralia finished, the prince’s pupils became
dilated. The sun was now gone, and he entered a trance. Coralia waited for his response, but he
instead raised his arms up and shoved her overboard. She began flailing her arms and screaming for
help. The prince ignored her, picked up a barrel, and poured thick oil onto Coralia. He continued to
grab barrels and pour them onto her. She began to choke as oil entered her mouth. It grew hard for
her to move, and she cried out for him to stop. The oil continued coming, turning her hair pure white.
The oil overcame her, and she slipped under the thick layer of oil, never to be seen again.
Chiara Angelyn Maldonado
“The Dry Haven”
On distant ancestral land stood a neighborhood of hippos. In one small
pastel pink home lived Hope and her family. Every morning, after her mother
left for work, she took a nice cold shower to prepare for school. As she rose
from her bed, she yelled for Harry to get up. Harry was her little brother who
never wanted to wake up and often caused them to be late, so Hope always
tried to wake him up earlier than needed. In a slouched walk, she headed to
the bright teal bathroom and entered it groggily. She silently judged herself in
the mirror before pulling back the curtain of the shower. She sighed once more
before yelling for Harry to awaken. She twisted the knob, watching the water
gush out, when suddenly it stopped. So, Hope waited. And waited. AND
WAITED. She stared at the shower head in disbelief before turning it back off
and back on. Still, nothing happened. She backed away in confusion and
questioned everything.
She then froze. Had the drought attacking neighboring towns finally
reached them? She called her mother as she attempted to wake up Harry for
the last time. Harry opened his eyes and was met with a frantic Hope, who told
him about the water, but he just laughed before heading to the bathroom. Her
mother answered, and she told her mother about the issue. Her mother sprung
to her feet to notify everyone. It was a serious issue for hippos, and they knew
the dangers the drought had already caused for other neighborhoods. Her
mother told them to pack things so they could start their migration to
somewhere with water. The drought caused the ground to be drier with cracks;
bugs could not inhabit it, nor could other species. As Hope hung up the phone,
Harry exited the bathroom, yelling in fear that the toilet was not flushing.
Hope rolled her eyes before telling him he was a genius for realizing the issue
and told him to pack.
Their mother finally arrived, allowing them to start moving towards the
town’s emergency shelter, which was miles away. The town thought they had
avoided the drought, but Hope’s constant showers must’ve led to this fate.
Hope tightly held her mother’s hand as she began to weep silently, not
wanting to alarm her mother, for she was the cause of this. Hope wiped her
tears as she felt another droplet of water. Then again, another droplet fell, but
this time on her other arm. Then her foot. Then the top of her head. Harry
jumped with glee, causing Hope to look up and see the dark grey clouds before
feeling another drop on her cheek. This time, it was not a tear, but a blessing of
water from the sky. All the hippos jumped with happiness, especially Harry,
since now he could flush the toilet. Now that they knew they could stay for a
bit longer, joy filled the land until the drought fully engulfed them.
Kaitlynn Murphy Herrera
“The Fields of Killingsworth”
Rain kissed your forehead as you took a step outside. The scent of the lavender fields drifted into
the homes of Connecticut. It was the middle of July. Athena and Veronica were best friends who lived
in the beautiful lavender fields of Killingsworth, Connecticut. One night, Veronica decided that she
wanted to go over to Athena’s house, which wasn’t that far from her home. She started to walk over to
her best friend’s house with a bag of snacks. The walk over wasn’t that long because Athena and
Veronica were the only ones that lived in the lavender fields. As Veronica passed through the fields,
she stopped to look at the sunset, as she just felt the need to enjoy nature on that day. The way the
sun glistened against the water in the river and gave vibrating colors to the fields made Veronica more
mesmerized by nature’s beauty. A few moments passed by, and Veronica decided to get up and keep
heading towards the house. Athena opened the door, and Veronica screamed with excitement as she
saw that her favorite movie was playing in the living room. She got the snacks out of her bag and
Athena got drinks from the fridge. They sat down on the couch and enjoyed their evening full of fun
and food. Moments passed by, and Veronica’s mom called Athena’s house because she wasn’t
answering her phone. Athena picked up the phone with no thought at all and said, “Mmhm, okay; she
can go right now.” This got Veronica worried. She started to ask Athena what had happened, who that
was, and what was going on. Athena rushed towards Veronica and told her she needed to leave now.
Her mother didn’t say why, but she just needed to leave right away. Athena didn’t think anything bad
had happened, so she sent Veronica out even though it was dark already. It wasn’t bad that Veronica
had to walk alone back home in the dark because nothing bad ever happened on the side they lived in.
Twenty minutes went by, and Veronica started to hear screaming in the distance, like the screams that
come out of the movies. At this point, Veronica started to wonder if she should go back to her best
friend’s place or continue going back home. She was in the middle of nowhere and kept hearing the
screams coming and going. She kept walking with a slight hesitation in her step, and right behind her
were footsteps. They were not familiar footsteps, but something like an animal was just passing by.
Veronica turned around so quickly and saw it was a deer; it just kept following her. She started to get
scared by everything happening and ran the rest of the way home, but she couldn’t get away from the
deer. The deer ended up pushing her down and transformed into an old woman. She looked like some
witch out of a fairy tale. The witch told her she needed to stop running away and that she needed to
pay for everything wrong she had done in the past few years. So, confused and afraid at the same
time, Veronica asked, “What did I do? What do I need to make up for?” The lady didn’t want it to be
that easy for her; Veronica had to figure it out herself. She told the lady she wasn’t going to apologize
for no reason, and if she had done something, it was probably for a good reason. The lady grew furious
and killed Veronica; she couldn’t take the lies and denial from her. She couldn’t just leave her body
there, so she burned the field and her body so that no one could find her. In the lady’s mind, Veronica
got what she deserved. Her mom became worried because it had already been an hour since she had
called, and Veronica hadn’t come home yet. She called Athena’s home to see if she had really left yet.
Athena told her that she had left an hour ago, so Athena was afraid of something happening to her.
She went out to look for her. She started running frantically; minutes turned into hours as she tried to
find her best friend, but to no avail. She eventually found a part of the field engulfed in flames. She ran
over there and saw a body lying there, dismembered in the fire, just burning. She felt that it was
Veronica. Athena quickly called her mom and 911 to let them know there was a field fire 30 minutes
north of her home. The fire department came to put out the fire, but it just kept growing. Athena
begged them to save the field; she knew she couldn’t save her best friend anymore, but since she had
died in something she loved, she wanted to at least save the field. Lavender fields were Veronica’s
favorite, and it took them days to save the fields, but since the body was burned so severely, they
couldn’t identify it. Athena lived for the rest of her life making sure there were no more field fires
because that was all she had left of her best friend, but she also carried the weight of wondering why
this had happened to her and who would do such a thing to such a wonderful person.
Martha Nava
“Penny’s Peril”
In the enchanted realm of Snowscape, endless glaciers glimmered like
diamonds under the sun, and creatures roamed the icy tundra. There lived
Penny the penguin. She waddled across a glacier and lay down to watch the
sunrise. “It’s so nice and frosty today,” she thought while she crunched on
some ice cubes from her cup. Penny’s brisk bliss was disturbed. The ground
started shaking. The creatures started to panic and run for cover. Cracks
formed beneath their feet, and some fell into the blue waters. Penny looked
into the horizon, trying to make out the gigantic figures in the dark clouds that
approached them. “Big red dragons!” screamed the seals. “I see flames coming
out of their mouths!” screamed the seabirds. The ice melted with each slither
they made on the ice. Fire Dragons were ancient enemies of Snowscape and
had been wanting to take over their land for decades. However, Penny had
only ever heard of them in folktales told by the older members of the kingdom.
Desperate to defend her beloved Snowscape, she rallied the creatures of the
south: the seals, the whales, and the birds. Together, with determined looks on
their faces, they got ready to fight. The seals and whales tried putting out the
fires by splashing the waters. But as the Fire Dragons crept closer, their efforts
were unwavering. The bright sky turned orange from the flames. Looking
around, Penny saw all of her friends screaming and fighting as hard as they
could, but she knew they would not make it. With a sense of defeat, Penny ran
off crying to the only piece of ice left on the land, tucking her head into her
arms, hoping everything would disappear. An ear-piercing crash made
everyone's head turn. She turned around and saw the ancient Ice Dragon leap
into the air from the waters. Everyone’s attention was on it; the Ice Dragon
fearlessly blasted white ice frost from its breath, piercing the Fire Dragons in
their hearts. Each Fire Dragon froze and shattered into a million pieces.
Everyone started cheering and rejoicing. “We are saved!” they chanted. The Ice
Dragon helped rebuild Snowscape. It made glaciers here and there and then
let out a huge breath into the air. The sky turned clear again, and a pleasingly
chilly snowfall came down. After that immense fight, the victorious Ice Dragon
drove the last of the Fire Dragons back into the depths where they had come
from. A sense of peace settled over Snowscape. Although the Fire Dragons
were gone for now, Penny knew that if they did not stop playing with and
creating fires, the cycle of destruction and rebirth could forever haunt them.
In this story, the Fire Dragons symbolize humans, destroying the habitats of
others that occupy the earth, and hopefully serve as a warning to those who
ignore the signs, lest the perils of Penny's habitat be forgotten and the land of
Snowscape tremble once more.
Madeline Ortega
“Aurora’s Slumber”
Once upon a time, when the princess Aurora was born, the kingdom erupted in a cheer
that was heard many miles away. When the sound reached Maleficent, she was angry for not
knowing the cause of such cheers and for not being a part of them. She immediately flew
towards the kingdom, and when she arrived, she threw the doors open. As she approached
them, the king and queen rushed closer to the cradle of the infant, where there were three
fairy godmothers standing.
“What is going on here, without me?” asked Maleficent with a sly look on her face.
“We didn’t think you would want to come,” said the king fearfully.
“Why would I want to miss out on giving your beloved child a gift?”
And with that, Maleficent put a curse on the child and the kingdom, which was that the
temperatures would rise abnormally over the next 16 years. The life of the princess would be
taken by the prick of a spindle as the sun set on her 16th birthday if they wished to save the
kingdom from the agonizing temperatures.
After setting the curse upon them, Maleficent fled back to her mountain where she
rested. Two of the fairies, Flora and Fauna, had already given the princess Aurora the gift of
beauty and the gift of song. They turned to their last hope and begged Merryweather to do
something.
Merrywhether felt unsure of herself when she said, “Instead of falling into death, Aurora
will fall into a deep sleep until Maleficent is killed and the curse is lifted.”
So as the days went on, the king and queen tried to spend as much time with their
daughter as they could. For many years, the king tried to send men to find Maleficent at her
mountain, but she was nowhere to be seen for all 16 years. As the curse seemed inevitable,
the king questioned whether they should cancel her betrothal to Prince Phillip. But he could
not keep them separate; they grew very fond of each other and were always at each other’s
side. Maleficent did not want to even give them the chance of lifting the curse before
Aurora’s 16th birthday. She wanted the king and queen to suffer and to miss out on life’s
precious moments, just as Maleficent felt she had been excluded time and time again. What
Maleficent wanted came true; on Aurora’s 16th birthday, the princess fell into a deep sleep,
and the entire kingdom was relieved of the horrid rising temperatures, but it didn’t matter,
for their hearts saddened because their princess could not enjoy the day with them.
Prince Phillip refused to settle and told everyone that he was going to find Maleficent,
for he could not bear another day without Aurora. The three fairy godmothers heard of his
endeavor and rushed to find him. They thought the young man to be very ambitious, as he
was already set on his way when they found him. They stopped him and gifted him with an
unbreakable sword that could pierce through anything. They also gifted him with courage
and sent him back on his way towards Maleficent. Maleficent had a very handy crow that
kept tabs on all the things going on inside the kingdom. The crow had warned her of Phillip,
and Maleficent thought it to be the perfect opportunity to cause more suffering among the
kingdom. During this time, she had transformed into a dragon and began flying toward the
kingdom. However, she was unaware of the magic that the fairy godmothers had given to
Phillip, and so she flew straight for him in attempts to crush him. But Phillip stood strong with
the picture of his beloved Aurora in his mind. He held up his sword as Maleficent came
crashing down, and her dragon body was split in two. At last, Maleficent had been defeated,
and the curse was lifted. Aurora woke from her sleep and welcomed Phillip back home. She
thanked the fairy godmothers for all they had done, because it could not have been done
without them. And they all lived happily ever after. The end.
Ashlin Padilla
“The Grind & Hustle of a Real Man”